Thursday, 15 February 2007

TAST Eyelet Stitch

Eyelet is a dear little stitch, but I found it difficult to find inspiration for this sampler. I don't know if that is to do with the stitch or because I have been full of cold for over a week now.

I started with the border. This is a varigated thread that I have had for ten years or more. I bought it at a local craft fair and have been saving it ever since. I never knew what I was saving it for until it told me that it would like to be an eyelet stitch border!

The rest of the stitching is in DMC linen. The first two blocks where experimenting using eyelets as a filling stitch. For the third block, I chopped up the stitch and put it back in a different order. My cold was taking hold by then and I was feeling a bit nasty! This left large spaces between the stitches which I could not leave empty.

More disection for the fourth row, this time cut in half and place tip to toe. I resisted the urge to fill these spaces and allowed them to 'be' in their own right.

A couple of rows of two-tone eyelets followed by a wave of simicircular eyelets. A really could not think of anything more to do in the space remaining so I scattered a few sequins and attached them with freeform eyelets.

What does it take for me to stop stitching neat lines and attempt something vaguely random? A slight fever.